Bumblebee Pairing: All The Reasons Why It Makes Sense

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For you RWBY fans, I'm sure many of you are aware of just how many ships exist out there for that anime by its late creator Monty Oum. If I'm correct, there is a name for literally every romantic relationship possible (and not) between each individual character. It's actually kind of creepy. But I'm not going to delve into the highly improbable ones.

No, I want to address the ship called Bumblebee, which is a romantic relationship between Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long.

When I first started watching RWBY, I didn't really care about who would end up with who. But then I was introduced to the fandom, and maybe I was influenced in part, but after that I began to really think about it. I enjoy stories and relationship development that make sense. You won't find me wishing for something to happen, or accepting something, if there wasn't any logic behind it. Because of this, I tend to analyze thoroughly.

The conclusion I came to was that Bumblebee had plenty of reasons to become canon. Aside from Monty stating he didn't have a problem with featuring characters with varied sexualities, and that Arryn Zech (voice of Blake Belladonna) and Barbara Dunkelman (voice of Yang Xiao Long) have mentioned that they themselves ship Bumblebee, there are also other contributing factors to this belief of mine.

1 - Blake and Yang's fighting styles. They complement each other extremely well on the battlefield. Where Yang is an aggressive up-close combatant most of the time and displays excellent martial arts skills, Blake on the the other hand uses long to mid-range attacks. Where Yang is strong and possesses incredible endurance, Blake is swift, agile and very accurate. They form a very effective partnership.

2 - To be able to be so effective, Yang and Blake would have needed to trust each other immensely. Nobody puts their lives in the hands of someone else by choice if there is no prior trust. And to be able to trust each other, it would have been imperative for them to at least have spent a long time together training and learning to coordinate efficiently. This only makes sense. They have already shown that they have some interesting tricks up their sleeves, proving that they spend time together practicing intensively.

3 - At first glance, it would seem that Blake and Yang are polar opposites. In essence, they therefore shouldn't necessarily get along. But they do. I won't start spouting the "opposites attract" nonsense and instead explain this properly. They get along because underneath the surface, where it matters, these two girls are deeply passionate, driven people. Yang is not a superficial dumb blonde. Blake is not cold and aloof. Yang would have had to have gained a certain maturity and sense of responsibility by having to somewhat raise her little sister Ruby by herself. Blake does have a sense of humor and has shown that she can be deeply touched by certain things. On the outside they appear very different, which lends to great scenes and lovely development, but in the end the two partners aren't too much different from one another, both searching for answers and justice.

4 - Personality-wise, Blake and Yang balance each other out wonderfully. The weaknesses of one are the strengths of the other. Where one is impulsive and subject to bouts of frustration, the other is deliberate and calm; where the latter is stubborn and haunted, the former is amiable and family-oriented, etc. Because of this, they would work very well as a couple, able to understand and trust each other but also help and support one another. They may get on each other's nerves from time to time, but what couple doesn't?

5 - Blake must have chosen Yang as her partner. We never saw the way she landed, and for all intents and purposes, she stalked Yang and revealed her presence willingly to her by beating down that Ursa. So...what gives?

6 - Arryn and Barbara literally read a Bumblebee fanfic out loud together while being filmed. Even if it may have been jokingly, has this actually occurred with any of the other RWBY cast members? Why would they even do something like that?

7 - In the episode 'Burning the Candle', just at the end of the talk Yang and Blake had, Yang suggests to her partner, "If you feel like coming out to the dance tomorrow, I'll save you a dance." And then, lo and behold, Yang winked at Blake, as if saying "You know you want to." That turn of phrase and subtle action wasn't suspicious at all, right? Furthermore, for those of you who wish to dispute that Yang was only being playful and didn't actually mean it, Blake and Yang really did dance together at the party, even if they didn't have to. Blake also insisted to tell Sun that her first dance was taken, as if it mattered to her.

8 - More on that subject. When Sun awkwardly asked Blake to go to the dance with him, Blake displayed absolutely no interest in going. It wasn't until Yang spoke with her that she finally showed an improvement in her attitude towards the whole thing. Therefore, although Sun and Blake technically attended the dance 'together', Sun couldn't have been the main reason why Blake went in the first place.

9 - Supposing the creators were intent on eventually forming a homosexual couple within the circle of main characters (let's say Team RWBY and Team JNPR), Yang and Blake are the only two protagonists who are both comparatively more mature and available to make this development happen (Pyrrha would be too, but I believe Arkos is realistically more than obvious + other reasons I won't elaborate on right now). Yang's rather casual approach to sexuality suggests a more grown-up state of mind, probably because she barely enjoyed a childhood of her own, what with watching her father fall apart and searching for her mother even at the cost of putting her young life in danger. Being involved with the White Fang and being treated as something less than human from childhood, Blake would have been forced to grow up far faster and accept how harsh reality is. Because of this, both of these characters have passed the innocence and naivety of childhood and would be perfect candidates to experiment with.

10 - Yang is a wildcard. I think everyone can admit we can expect just about anything from her. While we know she has an attraction to boys, she could easily also be bisexual/pansexual - nothing has made this assumption impossible, nothing has proven that she wouldn't be game to try/experience it. As for Blake...we don't know where she stands, as she is the most secretive and private member of Team RWBY. But we have seen that she is not interested in Sun. Yes, he was someone she could talk to because he is a Faunus like her, but she has shown no willingness towards him and has often rather been indifferent, if not cold. Funnily enough, Arryn stated in the RWBY girls' podcast that she wouldn't be surprised if Blake was a lesbian. It would be quite ironic if Blake represented more than one heavy subject of controversy, and I wouldn't put it past Roosterteeth to head that way.

So, those are my reasons for thinking that Bumblebee makes sense and has a chance of becoming canon, unlike some other more rattlebrained ships out there. I bet some of you could come up with even more things to point out concerning the possibility of this couple.

0 (comment about voice actors) - Popularity/testimonials don't directly relate to the universe. It means the audience would (at least in part) like it, but that doesn't mean anything to the characters, who know nothing about us.

1- The whole team fights together well. Ruby
can “drive by” attack and can snipe, in addition to just normally
hitting things. Because of her speed, she usually shouldn't get in
the way of anyone else (what DIDN'T happen when Ruby and Weiss fought
the beowolves in volume 1, but I'd bet they're better with that now). Weiss can attack from range, including freezing stuff which is excellent support for any combat partner or group, and
can also fight in melee. Blake has all types of ranges and such; no
real detriment to fighting with anyone. Yang is aggressive, so she
often would be the one attracting enemy attention, which is beneficial for those with less defenses. She has close and
long range attacks. Nothing incompatible with anyone.

2 - Everyone
is “so effective”. They've had over a semester thus far, and the
show does not show every second of their lives. I'm 100% sure that
everyone on the team trains with everyone else on the team, or Ruby's
combo attack commands in Painting the Town wouldn't make sense. Team
thing, not pair thing. But the success of each attack in the one scene isn't indicative of average effectiveness.

3 - “both
searching for answers and justice”: I don't see any justice in
Yang. She's a good person, but her announced motive is to enjoy
herself. Sure, she helps her team and friends and is caring, but
that's less about justice and more about friends. Every other pair
also has similarities and differences, so making a scale to compare
these between different pairs would be necessary for this to be a
point.

4 - Okay...?
Similar to #3. Everyone is different, and any combination can work
well if there's any effort. Again, there would need to be some sort of meaningful rankings.

5 - Yes.
Probably because Ruby is annoying, Weiss was an enemy, and Yang is
competent. Doesn't have to be anything more, but sure, it can be, I
agree.

6 - Goes
back to the popularity/testimonial thing. It's an extremely common
pair, so a good portion of fans would enjoy hearing it. End of story.

7 - Yes.
Yang is rather forward. The dance was at least an act of courtesy and
at most hidden romance. But... There's no sign that the one dance was
very special, as there was nothing obvious when they separated, and
Blake stayed with Sun the rest of the time.

8 - Yes,
Sun is just a distraction and a time sink. He understands a bit of
her history and is entertaining, but she sure doesn't seem to
actually like him overall. (Scolding for stealing fruit; lack of
trust during the White Fang infiltration.) But the very emphasized
part of Blake and Yang's talk was that Blake shouldn't overwork
herself. She didn't immediately say yes to going to the dance when
Yang asked, and only agreed after being convinced about unhealthy
work habits.

9 - Sure, although availability doesn't mean that it should/would happen or the characters want it.

10 - I definitely agree
that it's likely that Yang is bi, and agree that there's no reason to
expect anything about Blake. But this doesn't exactly mean anything
about Bumblebee compared to umpteen other pairs...?

Let's look at other pairs to compare:

RY - Umm... Very few people think anything of this. Dunno why I included it.

RW - Ruby is Weiss's first friend and breaks some of Weiss's walls. Weiss arguably shows the most emotion when with Ruby. But... there's no indication that Ruby is active in the relationship department or that either thinks of the other as more than a friend.

RB - They both read? Not much wrong; not much right. If you really want to search, Blake helped Ruby on move-in day and Ruby has been supportive of Blake during all her problems.

WY - Just as much "opposites" stuff as BY. Would make some sense for them to get close by Yang exposing Weiss to actually having fun for the first time in her life. One issue is that it's likely heavy in the verbal abuse department, and I don't know if either actually enjoys receiving that.

WB - It would actually add to the plot of the show by displaying a huge ideological change in Weiss. She already said that she opposes a lot of SDC policies and she has slackened her racism. Actually being friendly with Blake rather than tolerable and/or actually acting on her desires to eliminate hatred and correct the SDC would both be character development and solid plot. I feel it'll be a plot hole if Weiss doesn't do anything more against the SDC/racism or for Blake. BUT! This can just be friendship. No "need" for romance off of this, but there isn't a "need" for romance anywhere else either. Also, neither is much of an initiator.

+9 Ditto

JayAzhureFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

Valid and good arguments! I apologize if I sounded like I was trying to push my opinion on others - that was not, by any means, my intent. Rather it was just to discuss and share thoughts. I agree that most of these reasons are not absolutely solid. They are theories and impressions, ones I was merely exploring myself. Really, I will be satisfied with any couple that takes shape, as long as the development is written and played out well. That is a must. I just ship Bumblebee more enthusiastically than the others.

It was nice of you to take the time to address each individual point! Thank you for that. ^-^

+5 Ditto

AngusJamesonFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

Just to be clear, up until now I have had zero contact with the RWBY community while I watched the show. I had no knowledge and any fanfics or ships of any kind so I had nothing influencing my thoughts.

All throughout the first season I did not even think about the possibility of any character's sexuality or even about who they might become attracted to (except for Jaune and Pyrrha). I was mostly focused on the story and characters. But then I heard Yang's "Save me a dance" speech and I was like "wait a minute. Does she have feelings for Blake?" At the time I honestly thought I was alone in thinking this. It was not until a friend told me search "Bubblebee" that I realized that there is not an entire fanbase devoted to this.

Now, I am not one for just shipping something because it "cute" or "hot" or whatever kind of reason people ship stuff like "Phan" (Phil + Dan). The only reason I am even posting I this forum is because stuff has happened in the show that makes me suspicious of Yang's feelings towards Blake. I'm talking about stuff that happened before this thread was created. No, I talking about stuff from the last two episodes of volume 3 (spoilers for those BTW).

Specifically what set my suspicion meter off was Yang's reaction to Blake getting stabs. Prior to this four other characters had gotten hurt during the fighting. And each time one their friends repeated the exact same action: they stuck out their hand and yelled the character's name. Pretty normal response to a friend getting injured, right? Yang's response was a lot more... serious. She faces Taurus and screams "Get away from her!" and then charges forward in a burst of anger. Just rewatch that scene and try to tell me that Yang did not show a bit more emotion than what you'd expect from a person defending her friend.

On top of that you have Taurus telling Blake "I going to make it my mission to destroy everything you love." Looks towards Yang, "Starting with her." Blake makes a face that can only be described as true terror. And then you have the scene in the last episode where Blake and Yang have escaped and are lying on the ground and Blake reaches to grab an unconscious Yang's hand and says "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." You can argue and say that these to things prove nothing, but then why, if RoosterTeeth is very much aware of Bubblebee, are they putting thing in the show that only encourage this shipping.

I am perfectly willing to except that neither Blake nor Yang have any feelings for each other or that neither of them are gay, if that show presents me with evidence of that. In fact I was not even questioning Blake sexuality until the whole "Starting with her" debacle. However there enough things that bring Yang's sexuality into question and almost nothing that is a genuine example of not showing an attraction towards girls, or even of showing an attraction towards guys. Plus unlike Ruby and Weiss's relationship, which is light hearted and humorous, Blake and Yang's relationship is a lot more serious and intimate. When Weiss is feeling down Ruby gives her words of encouragement, where as when Blake is struggling Yang tells her a really personal story and ends the talk with a hug.

When it comes to Blake's feelings towards Yang I honestly don't know what to think. Originally I thought she just saw her as a friends but recent events have caused me to rethink that. However, as it stands now at the conclusion of volume 3 nothing short of the created outright stating otherwise would cause me to rethink my assumption that Yang has feelings for Blake.

+16 Ditto

AngusJamesonFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

You show some good thoughts to this, but most of these are based on what you believe. They made a part in the show that practically set the sails for black sun in season 3. Sun's wink at Blake after SSSN's fight against NDGO, Blake's blush after that happened, it can't be more obvious than that. There's also the dance where after Blake's dance with Yang, she danced with Sun. And with Bumblebee, you can only see them as battle partners. You just can't see them as a thing. Black sun for life

I mean, I would say "Not fall in love with you" is the evidence for Black Sun, and thus the counter to Bumblebee, but since it is from Sun's perspective, it doesn't indicate mutually reciprocated feelings.

Another thing that must be pointed out: If we really must theorize on a characters sexuality, I would just say there is much more evidence of Yang simply being straight than there is of her being bi. In any case, Blake is far more likely to be bi than anyone else on the team, for ONE pivotal reason. (If you don't know what that is, than I would recommend reading up on the cast)

Now, another thing to consider is this: the "evidence" we have to support this is somewhat arbitrary in nature, and has nowhere near as much support as Arkos did, or Renora (Which I do so hope gets screen time in Volume 4).

Also, we must not forget there is the biggest ship sinker of them all out there:

Adam "Irony Impaired" Taurus.

(Note, I do not dislike Bumblebee, nor the people who ship it, indeed, I am all for it, it's just that compared to OTHER ships out there, Bumblebee does appear to be grasping at straws to prove itself. Come a future episode where one of the girls mentions something irrefutably proving that they could have interest in the other, than I will hope on board the serious ship. But right now, it is lingering in the realm of fanfiction, awaiting approval)

+4 Ditto

RexFrostFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
The King of Cool

Yeah, you're not alone in your suspicions. Ever since "Burning the Candle", I honestly think that there might be more to Blake & Yang's relationship than just mere friendship, especially after seeing Yang's not-so-subtle wink towards Blake.

Truthfully, based on the opinions posted in this thread as well as my own, I hope that these two characters do end up together, if only to send a very powerful message: love conquers any adversity. It's cliche, I know, but powerful, nevertheless. First things first though, they actually have to conquer their current adversities.

In reply to AtBz05029 say what you want. It's true tho. Who do you think would relate more about being a faunus? Yang or Sun? And not only that, yang doesn't need a lover it would only hold her back. And if she does manage to be back in the fighting spirit, I think the last thing she would think about is love.

+1 Ditto

sportygeek4evaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

One issue with your point, Sun constantly had hit on Blake in season 2 and she shut him down. Coldly. Sun broke her trust within a day or so by telling Neptune about Blake’s faunus heritage (I was really hoping that the team would find out about that, especially given their reaction to Jaune almost spilling the beans) And yes, Blake danced with Sun, but that was because she had agreed to accompany him to the dance, she had no obligation to dance with Yang, yet she did. And even though Blake accompanied Sun to the dance, he wasn’t the one who was able to convince her to go, Yang was

And considering how Blake and Yang seem to be more than partners (even if I were assigned to be someone’s partner for four years, I don’t think I’d tell them the story of how I almost got myself and my sibling killed within the first year of knowing them, not unless we clicked really well). And based on Yang’s reaction to Adam stabbing Blake, I’d put down that she (at least) has some deep connection with Blake because it’s clear during the battle that everything, even if they won, would have been changed and the chances of the teams staying the same would be slim with the deaths, so you can’t put it down to “she needed to care about her partner”.

First off, relating isn't the issue, sure Sun can relate to her, but so can Adam and we saw how that went down. And if we had that mentality, we could say who relates better to being a woman? Yang. If this were out mentality, the human race would be wiped out by now, we'd be a bunch of homosexual intra-racial beings. This relates to the issues of the 1960s where people would use that argument to prevent interracial marriage. Yang and Blake getting together would be a statement of acceptance towards homosexual, intra-racial love that strengthens with every bump in the road.

I personally believe that you are wrong: Yang needs someone to love her, she is constantly the one who is left behind and even if Blake had good intentions, her abandonment hurt Yang, a lot. And that is another reason I believe the two need each other in a more committed relationship.

I hope you take no offense or anger towards my response (some have so I’ve decided to explicitly state this) I enjoy a good conversation and simply wanted to make a reply.

Also: Yang's bike is named Bumblebee and (spoiler?) in the concept art for Yang, her pants have a Bumblebee patch on the right leg.

That's where the ship name came from, not the other way around. Same with White Rose. Do you know what Myrtenaster is in English?

White Rose.

The Bumblebee patch is most likely just RT trolling us. Like they did with the combo attacks having ship names. If you want Bumblebee, watch the video of Barbara and Arryn reading fanfiction. That's as close as you'll ever get (for now, that is).

As I said earlier, I have nothing against Bumblebee, indeed, I like the idea of it, but I don't seriously ship it, because every Bumblebee support argument is a Strawman argument. It needs much more conclusive evidence.

People can ship whatever, but I don't understand why it's THE RWBY pairing. Pretty much all of their moments together have been just to further Bumblebee, and it usually feels forced to me. When I see works about White Rose or Arkos for instance, I see how the two would interact and how the relationship would work. I don't see that in Bumblebee works, and I just don't see how the two would click.

+2 Ditto

RexFrostFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
The King of Cool

Different strokes for different folks, buddy. Just because you can't see something at first doesn't mean it isn't there. I remember watching The Legend of Korra & thinking there was nothing more between Korra & Asami than mere friendship. Then the last episode aired & took me by surprise. I had to rewatch the whole series to notice there were subtle hints that Korrasami was real. Knowing that, I won't be caught off-guard if Bumblebee becomes canon. I've noticed the hints & believe it's only a matter of time before Blake & Yang start a serious relationship together.

I'm not saying people shouldn't ship it. Just that I don't understand it's appeal.

Say with Korra. Korra and Asami had an established dynamic long before people shipped them. And I understood the appeal, I jumped on board at later seasons because I felt Bolin deserved more than Korra, and both Korra and Asami deserved more than Mako, leaving them the only two on the main cast to ship with eachother. And you know, progress. And it only really gained steam after Makorra and Borra and Makasami were already explored.

Bumblebee however started before the two had there first conversation in the first Volume. There are plenty of other viable ships to explore as there are eight in the main cast, as opposed to four, and between them, people probably avoid Enabler, don't want to break up Renora, and will take different stances on Arkos and White Knight, with honestly nothing really being a closed case in the eyes of the fandom, leaving plenty of other options available, even for strictly gay ships (especially for strictly gay ships).

So it's beyond me why the fandom rallied behind Bumblebee, considering other ships either have more build up to them, or there dynamic is more interesting, and as I said, the Bumblebee moments there feel rather artificial, solely to set up Korrasami, as opposed to the largely subtle (perhaps overly so for some) moments for that pairing.

+1 Ditto

sportygeek4evaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

See, I see it the opposite way, I don't see their interactions as forced or artificial. Personally I think (and this was somewhat proven in Burning the Candle) that there is so much more to Yang than she lets on and part of that is why I believe that Blake and Yang would be so good together, They also appear to be the more mature (in different ways) of the group (Pyrrha and Ren are somewhat mature, but in a more distant way). The team dynamic in my humble opinion appears to be where Blake and Yang are the 'parents' of the tea while Ruby and Weiss act like the bickering siblings of the 'family. But this is just my view of the team dynamic.

I've come to understand their dynamic more, but I think it's still only something that has been shed light on more recently in the show, where we see that there is more to Yang and Blake. I still don't see why it caught on in popularity early on.

And I still think most of their moments have just been there to further Bumblebee because it's a popular ship, rather than just exploring what the two would do together when put together.

+1 Ditto

VikingBubblesFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
anime noob

my own thoughts on how Yang reacted to Adam stabbing Blake are that Ruby or Weiss would have probably gone in just as hot had they been there and quite possibly gotten wrecked just as hard if not worse. They are partners closer than family, but I currently don't see them getting together romantically. I lean more towards black sun/eclipse because of the development and interaction they have not only in volume 2 but also in the beginning of volume 3. On the other hand, I'm not completely closed to bumblebee should the plot move more that way.

I understand why there would be an opposition to Bumblebee. I also see why people would ship Black Sun. I'm not saying they're wrong and I'm not saying I wouldn't be on-board for Black Sun if the development was good. But there are certain things that make me hesitate.

Sun has next to no character development. As of now, he is basically a male version of Yang, sans the puns. His sole purpose in the show currently is to be Blake's love interest, and that's terrible for a character. Yes, Blake confided in him at first. Except he could have literally been any other Faunus -- there's nothing special about him. Blake proceeded to give him the cold shoulder and push him away, showing that she had no interest in him. She attended the dance because Yang convinced her to, and by default, therefore danced with Sun because of Yang. The fact that Blake later blushes at Sun because he winked at her made no sense whatsoever -- you want something forced? That was forced. There was legitimately nothing previous to that exchange that would have made Blake's reaction valid -- a reaction, mind you, that seemed utterly out of character.

Furthermore, Sun and Adam have not interacted or even seen each other so far (in fact, does Sun even know Adam exists?). However, Sun and Yang know each other, and because Yang was there first, that makes Sun Yang's foil -- and Yang is Adam's foil. In the scene where Adam (who apparently used to be Blake's romantic interest) stabs Blake, why was it Yang who appeared looking for her? Why wasn't it Sun? The fact that it was Yang and Adam who had that face-off in that pivotal moment is telling – they were being contrasted. And if the writers didn't intend for that, then they aren't good writers because what they are implicitly showing is Bumblebee romance.

Moreover, when Ruby and Weiss arrived on the scene where Blake grips Yang’s hand, Sun didn’t look particularly concerned about Blake. He was just there. A missed opportunity for Black Sun.

And why does it feel like RT just keeps teasing Bumblebee? All of Blake and Yang's interactions in canon, RWBY Chibi, the bee on the pants of Yang’s new outfit…? There is so much fan art, so much fanfiction and so many shippers for Bumblebee within the fandom that if RT were to not make it happen, then that would be bad rep. You’ve said it yourself that Bumblebee was “THE RWBY pairing.” Also Miles thinks Bumblebee is “pretty great,” an answer he gave when asked what his favorite ship was. I don’t want a forced Bumblebee, and so far it hasn’t come across as forced, so if they continue slowly building it as they have, then they’ll have at least done one thing right.

Indeed, it would show a lot of growth on Blake’s part to be in a committed relationship with a human. Further, having a homosexual, inter-racial couple in the show would not only prove RT’s open-mindedness and acceptance of everyone, but it would also do a lot more for characterizing the Faunus race and progressing their arc than Sun’s empathy would.

Look, I don’t illogically ship characters together. There has to be good reasons and proper foundations. I realize there is currently no solid, concrete proof of Bumblebee as of yet, but with reasoning, observations and logical progressions, Bumblebee makes the most sense, with regards to Blake and Yang.

I apologize, but I’m writer, and at this point in time, with all the
events, interactions, characters, and the knowledge that we have about
the story, it is only common sense for Bumblebee to eventually be a
thing.

I'm not saying I dislike it, or prefer Eclipse more, in fact I stated I don't actually ship Eclipse. It just makes mores sense to me.

Like I said, I see it as completely one-sided on Sun's part. He's just a dude, and he gets totally hung up on this mysterious badass faunus girl. That makes complete sense to me. Blake meanwhile barely even registers his existence due to reasons of her being a former terrorist and has bigger things to worry about. But I could see her mellowing with time, and getting into an awkward relationship with Sun, and things progressing from there.

Now you are completely right. The more Homosexual, inter-racial pairings the better. I agree that RT should definitely make something like that canon. I just don't think that in and of itself makes a ship work. Removing that from Bumblebee I still think the pairing in of itself doesn't have much to offer. Maybe I'm just more of an emotional guy, but the hot badass lesbians macking on it for the sake of it doesn't do it for me just by itself (I have Nesquik [CocoxVelvet] for that). I just don't see how their personalities mesh.

White Rose works well because Ruby works as the manic pixie dream girl for Weiss' stick in the mud personality, with liberal doses of tsundere tropes.

Arkos works because Pyrrha can be so awkward socially you just want her to get the guy she wants, and Juane fits the mold.

Noren works since the two of them act in such a manner you can't ever manage them any other way.

Bumblebee I just don't see how the personalities mesh. Yang is (or at least was, who knows how her depression is going to end up) a fun 'live life to the fullest' type. Blake is a sullen emo teenager. And their moments together don't really play off of this dynamic as the other ships have. Basically it's like I can't imagine what the two would be like holding hands together if that makes sense. We haven't seen many moments where say, Yang wants to do something, and Blake doesn't, and the results of that. At the Dance we saw Yang convince Blake to go, but that mostly went along the lines of 'Do it.' 'Okay', and as said, felt rather like it was just trying to set up Bumblebee.

Now someone did mention to me that both have traumatic pasts, Blake a former terrorist, Yang having to pretty much raise Ruby and deal with two missing moms. That helps it make a bit more sense to me, but I don't think paints the whole picture.

NOW- This isn't a critique of Bumblebee. It's a fine ship, and everyone is free to ship it. If it becomes canon, good on you. It doesn't sink any of my ships. I just don't get it.

-2 Noob

VikingBubblesFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
anime noob

I understand why there would be an opposition to Bumblebee. I also see why people would ship Black Sun. I'm not saying they're wrong and I'm not saying I wouldn't be on-board for Black Sun if the development was good. But there are certain things that make me hesitate.

Sun has next to no character development. As of now, he is basically a male version of Yang, sans the puns. His sole purpose in the show currently is to be Blake's love interest, and that's terrible for a character. Yes, Blake confided in him at first. Except he could have literally been any other Faunus -- there's nothing special about him. Blake proceeded to give him the cold shoulder and push him away, showing that she had no interest in him. She attended the dance because Yang convinced her to, and by default, therefore danced with Sun because of Yang. The fact that Blake later blushes at Sun because he winked at her made no sense whatsoever -- you want something forced? That was forced. There was legitimately nothing previous to that exchange that would have made Blake's reaction valid -- a reaction, mind you, that seemed utterly out of character.

Furthermore, Sun and Adam have not interacted or even seen each other so far (in fact, does Sun even know Adam exists?). However, Sun and Yang know each other, and because Yang was there first, that makes Sun Yang's foil -- and Yang is Adam's foil. In the scene where Adam (who apparently used to be Blake's romantic interest) stabs Blake, why was it Yang who appeared looking for her? Why wasn't it Sun? The fact that it was Yang and Adam who had that face-off in that pivotal moment is telling – they were being contrasted. And if the writers didn't intend for that, then they aren't good writers because what they are implicitly showing is Bumblebee romance.

Moreover, when Ruby and Weiss arrived on the scene where Blake grips Yang’s hand, Sun didn’t look particularly concerned about Blake. He was just there. A missed opportunity for Black Sun.

And why does it feel like RT just keeps teasing Bumblebee? All of Blake and Yang's interactions in canon, RWBY Chibi, the bee on the pants of Yang’s new outfit…? There is so much fan art, so much fanfiction and so many shippers for Bumblebee within the fandom that if RT were to not make it happen, then that would be bad rep. You’ve said it yourself that Bumblebee was “THE RWBY pairing.” Also Miles thinks Bumblebee is “pretty great,” an answer he gave when asked what his favorite ship was. I don’t want a forced Bumblebee, and so far it hasn’t come across as forced, so if they continue slowly building it as they have, then they’ll have at least done one thing right.

Indeed, it would show a lot of growth on Blake’s part to be in a committed relationship with a human. Further, having a homosexual, inter-racial couple in the show would not only prove RT’s open-mindedness and acceptance of everyone, but it would also do a lot more for characterizing the Faunus race and progressing their arc than Sun’s empathy would.

Look, I don’t illogically ship characters together. There has to be good reasons and proper foundations. I realize there is currently no solid, concrete proof of Bumblebee as of yet, but with reasoning, observations and logical progressions, Bumblebee makes the most sense, with regards to Blake and Yang.

I apologize, but I’m writer, and at this point in time, with all the
events, interactions, characters, and the knowledge that we have about
the story, it is only common sense for Bumblebee to eventually be a
thing.

+2 Ditto

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